Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-01-22

This edition contains two woodcut por-
traits, one of The Pope, or Man of Sin, y
and the other of King George IL, both so
awesome in their hideousness that any fair
minded jury would give both these gentle
men large damages if they could only
bring suit for libel against IT Fleet, or
whoever engraved them. On the death of
George ii. his portrait was replaced in the
new edition by King George the Third,
Crown'd Sept. D. 176i, Whom Sod Pre-
serve" but in few years they had
changed their tune; that inscription was
removed, and the identical woodcut became
The Hon. John Hancock, Esq, President
of the Continental Congress- On his
glory fading, as it did toward the end of the
Revolution, Washington took his place,
and as long as it continued to be published
there was constant though unconscious
rivalry between him and Rev Isaac Watts
as to whose visage should ornament the
most editions
The author of the work is unknown !;
compiler would be a more proper word, for
it is almost entirely made up from the
writings of others, which the printer Of
each edition varied according to his pleas
ure. Yet each edition, like species in ma
tural history, contained certain Is essential
attributes which classed them, even more
than the title-page, as the same work. First
came two or three poems and prayers
from DR.. Watts ;" then the alphabet, fol-
lowed by combinations of two letters,
words OF one syllable (Which were gradu-
ally increased to six, and A Lesson for
Children" IN which they are warned, Be
not a Ounce" after this comes the
most famous portion, being the twenty
four little woodcuts, with the same
number of little poems, one for each
nf hp oil I nd
ceptsd. perhaps because no rhyme could be
made for them, but more probably because
the book was compiled before those letters
came into common use (which shows its
great age, for the lack of poetic rhythm
did not seem to be considered an objection,
as the following specimens will show:
In Adams fall
We sinned all,
the woodcut furnishing a puzzle as to
which is Adam and which is Eve, the sole
difference being slight one as to size,
while both greatly exceed the apple tree,
which bears six apples, any one OF which
would take first prize in an agricultural
fair Of the present day.
The Deluge drownd
The earth around,
is illustrated by an engraving which might
be termed a study in black and white, for
1t is merely square of black ink, with a
small white spot in the center which faith,
hope, and charity enable Us to imagine to
be the ark.
Proud Korah's troop
Was swallowed up,
is rather difficult to rhyme, but is embell-
ished with woodcut so wonderful as more
than 70 balance thepuzzle question whether
We shall tr1tp or o0p.
Lot fed TO Zoar
Saw fiery shower
On Sodom pour,
is represented by small bonfire and two
persons who look as if they were engaged
in tumbling up hill.
Young obadias,
David. JosiaS
All were pious
are drawn in attitudes which might well
excite the envy of Millais or Bourne-Jones.
Young Timothy
Learnt Sin to fly
impresses us with the belief that it would
take very little learning to fly the sin as
drawn by the native genius, for if he had
been studying anlmalcul9 with the most
modern telescope he could hardly have
drawn more dsagreeable creature.
Whales in the sea
Gods Voice obey
is another difficult stapza to recite poet
ically, while
Zaecheus he
Did climb the Tree
Our Lord to see,
only shows rs the mad imprudence of
Zaccheus, for he is represented in tree so
small as to be unsafe, while he is not over
six inches above the heads of the admiring
multitude, who prefer the safer ground.
oil or SbNr-
series of questions, "An Alphabet of Les
sons for Youth, being a lesson for each
letter of the alphabet Except Y, for which
the author was unable to find a suitable
word beginning with that trying letter, so
he begins the sentence eXhort) +" Prayers
for Children etc.; then a number of
names for men and women, almost entirely
taken from the bible, which is no doubt
partly responsible for the general use of
them in New England in the last century:
after which comes the engraving of John
Rogers being burnt at the stake, the ex-
PLANTATION stating that Mr. John Rogers
minister of the Gospel in London, was the
first martyr in Queen Mary's reign, and
was burnt at Smithheld February IA, 1854
his wife with nine small children, and one
at her breast following him to the stake,
with which sorrowful sight he was not in
the least daunted, but with wonderful pa
thence died courageously." 1t was in this
that the apple of discord appeared. Were
there nine small children or ten small chill
dren? Each engrayer was compelled to
settle the question for himself usually de-
Gliding on ten. but then every reader had to
decide the same question, and the engrav
ing was so poor that, like the famous pict-
ure of steamer in fog, by Turner-in
which one sees one vessel, sometimes four
you never were quite sure whether blot
might not represent one OF the rising gene
ration. This is followed by Mr., Rogers
advice to his children, written few days
before his death, and was apparently in
tended to be a poem, if We use John